Folding and disappearing stairs



-June 24, 1930. R. B. MARscHKE FOLDING AND DISAPPEARING- STAIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 27, 1925 Reinhull f ku-snh ke Quorum;

June 24, 1930. R. B. MARSCHKE ,7

.FOLDING AND DISAP PEA RING STAIRS Filed Apri1 2'7, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Reinhold. E1. Mur-schke Quota Patented June 24, 1930 warren sures PATENT .oFFIcE nnINHoLn B. MARSGHKE QE S T. rant, iarnly'nsorn, ssreivoii To BER'rHoLnv.

MARSCI-IKE, OF sr. PAUL; MINNESOTA romaine Ann DISAPPEARING STAIBS Application filed April 2?, 1925. Serial No. 26,271.

My invention relates to a folding and disappearing stairway which is adaptable for use where the space for the stairway is limited and where it is not desired to have the stair in the way when it is not desired for use. Other stairways have been designed for disappearing up into the attic or other lofts of the house or building so that the stairway is out of the way when not desired for use, but in designing my stairway I have desired to provide a simple'device which is effective for use being rigid in operation, yet freely foldable so that it can be collapsed into a compact state, only taking a small amount of room in the compartment above where the stairway is folded and being quickly and readily moved into operation for use.

One of the important features of my invention is in a folding stairway wherein the sections are connected together as a unit and can be folded into a compact state so thatin the manufacture of my stairway it'is put up into a very small package with the casement which encloses the same formed around the stairway and forming a part of the same, so that when my stairway is received it is only necessary to make the desired opening and place its casing in place whichforms the finish for and about the opening, wherein the stairway will operate.

It is also a feature of my invention to provide a folding stairway which is made up of sections so as to make the complete unit and these sections are foldable upon each other so that they will only take a small amount of room when folded up. This does not require a large space in the attic or upper compartment wherein the stairway folds. These sections are hinged together and connected by suitable means so that it only takes a small amount of lift to start the stairway to close up, thus making it easy to operate and providing a very desirable folding stairway.

It is also a feature of my invention to provide means for balancing the stairway in a manner so that it will set firmly in place and when the lift is exerted to raise the stairway the balance has the necessary pull so t as i t n raising the Sam Th s 1;

accomplish by using a sash balance spring thus provide a neat compact construction.

I also provide an end section which is pivotally connected to the other sections and spring means interposed between the same to hold the end section in a manner so that it will fold over the hinge or be drawn out over the hinge to extend in alineinent with the other sections of the stairway. In addi tion to this I provide folding braces on either side of the stairway which hold the sections in a manner to steady the same when the stairway is in rise. This provides a substantial construction which is not ordinarily found in disappearing Stairways. When my disappearing stairway is folded the sections fold one upon the other thus permitting the same to be collapsed into practically the space of a very small opening'which is required for the stairway. This particular construction permits the to make a folding and disappearing stairway ,in such small spaces as have beenheretofore impossible, With other forms of disappearing Stairways where they are drawn up in their entire length of rigid construction and must project up into the upper loft or compartment.

Other features and advantages of my invention will be more fully and clearly set forth in the following specification and claims: a p

In the drawings forming part of my specification:

Figure 1 is a side view of my stairway as it would appear in use, showing it at tached to the opening from which it is sup ported. v

Figure 2 is a front end view of my stair- F igure 3 illustrates a detail portion of the same.

Figure 4 illustrates another detail of a portion of the stairway.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the sash balance on the lines 55 of Figure 2.

In the drawings my folding stairway A is made up of the sections 1t), 11 and 12 to form a single unit which is operable in a manner to fold one upon the other.

My folding and disappearing stairway is hingedly secured at 13 to the casing 14, so

that when the stair is in operation the sections 10, 11 and 12 extend from the hinging point down from the ceiling of the room as is illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. In this position the stairway is rigidly supported and is ready for use. The sections and 11 are hingedly connected at 15, while the sections 11 and 12 are hingedly connected at 16. These hinging points are connected by flat hinges as illustrated, which are attached to the sides of the sections in a manner so that the same will fold over onto each other when they are folded up, as illustrated in dotted outline in Figure '1.

The lower section 12 is provided with a pair of supporting rollers 17 which are se cured to the sides and which are adapted to rest upon the floor to support the lower endof the stairway. The sections 11 and 12 are provided with connecting springs 18 which are attached to the inside of the sections and extend from one section to the other, as illustrated in Figure 1, when the stairway A is extended as illustrated, ready 1 for use. These springs 18 hold thesections 11 and 12 in alinement with the edges contacting at 19, so as to hold the end 12 extending rigidly from the end of the section 11. The springs 18 are positioned along the center of the pivot point 16 and hold the end 12 extended rigidly from the section 11, while when the stair is folded these springs act in a manner to extend between the sec tions to assist in holding the section 12 folded over onto the section 11, as illustrated in the folded position inFigure 1.

The section 10 is provided \Vltll a cover portion 20 which is adapted to form the cover which covers the opening 21 of the casing 14, and thus forms a closure for the casing and stairway when the same is folded, which extends along the ceiling. 22 in which my folding stairway is positioned. A pull cord 23 is connected to the cover at or near the free end, so that when the cover is up in closed position by pulling the cord 23 the stairway A is brought down into operati e position. The stairway A is provided with supporting frames 24 which are secured to the casing 14 and extend upwardly in the upper compartment above the ceiling in which my stairway is secured. These frames 24 are rigidly secured to the sides of the casing and are adapted to support the sash balances 25 at the upper end of the same. The sash balances 25 are provided with straps 26, one of which extends along the side of the stairway and is connected to the bolt 39, while the other strap 26 extends through the collapsible railing 27 and concealed therein. The strap from the sash balance 25 which is secured to the collapsible railing 27 is connected to the hook 28 on the lower end of the collapsible railing 27, so as to form an anchor means for the end of the strap within the railing to entirely conceal thestrap on this side of the railing' The sash balances 25 are formed with a casing to contain the coiled straps 26 and an inner spool 25 to which the free end of the straps 26 is attached. The spool 25 and the straps 26 are under tension of the spring 25 which is anchored in the casing and which tends to coil the straps 26 about the spool 25 The collapsible railing 27 is formed of tubular sections 29 and 30, the section 30 telescoping into the section 29, and the lower end of the railing 27 is supported by the bracket 31, which is pivotally connected by the bolt 32 to one side of the section 11. The bracket 31 is formed from hand iron material and is wrapped around the lower end ofthe railin 27 the sides of the same being clamped together by the bolts 33 below the railing 27, thus forming a rigidly strong bracket for supporting the lower end of the railing 27 The ends of the bracket 31 are formed with openings which areadapted to engage the spacing sleeve 34 which is held between the washer 35 and the head of the bolt 32. Thus when the bolt 32 is drawn up tightly by the nut- 36 the sleeve 34 is clamped rigidly between the head of the bolt and the washer 35, while the ends 37 of the bracket 31 are pivotally connected onto the sleeve 34. This permits of a strong connection for the lower end of the railing 27, and by the angular shape of one of the ends 37 the bracket 31 is adapted to space the railing 27 away from the side of the stairway. The upper end of the railing 27 is connected by the strap 38 to either side of the sash balance 25, while the tubing of the portion 30 is cut out to fit over the opening of the sash balance through which the strap 26 projects, and forming an opening to hold the strap to project through and extend along and concealed in the railing 27. This provides a very neat finished construction for the sash balance and railing 27 of the stairway A.

The collapsing feature of the rail is an important part of the invention and provides a very neat and practical railing for my folding stairway.

To provide suitable supporting means for my stairway A at a point where a great deal of strain is out of necessity carried by the same, I employ a pair Of arms 40 which are made up of a series of lengths connected at the points 41 and 42, thus providing long and short lengths connected together and each of the pair of arms are pivotally c011- nected at 43 to the casing 14, on their upper end. The lower ends of the arms 10 are adjustably connected to any of the openings deformed in the sides of the section 10 of the stairway A. These openings 44 permit the lower end of the arms 40 to be adjusted to the desired length so that when the stairway is extended it will properly line one section with the other and with the stair fully supported by the arms 40 at this point of the stairway, thus relieving this pressure from the end of the section 12 and providing a more rigid construction.

When the stairway A folds the sections 11 and 12 pivot about the points 15 until the portion 11 has reached a certain height, when the weight of the free end of the section 12 causes it to drop and turn under the section 11, being drawn up under the section by the springs 18. As the sections in this folded position continue to fold about the points 15 the portion 45 of the ends ofthe bracket 31 will strike against one of the arms a0, while the washer on the bolt at 39 will strike against the other arm at. the same time and thus cause the arms to tend to fold at their hinge points 41 and 42. i

In operating my stairway the sash balances 25 assist in lifting the same so that the stairway A is counter weighted by means of the sash balance connections. When. a person walking up the stairway gets on the first step ofsection 10 by pulling on the telescopic rail 27 the stairway will start to fold and with very little assistance will fold into the position illustrated in Figure 1. In pulling on the stairway in this manner it is necessary that the operator engage the section 29 of the railing 27. In this sense my stairway folds in an automatic manner at the same time closing the opening of the casing 14 by, the cover 20.

It is a particularly important part of my invention to provide the sections 10, 11. and 12 connected together in a unit, so that they will fold up into a very small space. The end section 12 accomplishes this result by shortening the stairway the amount of the length of the section 12 and thus permitting the opening of the casing 14 to be very much smaller than where less sections are used and where a single stairway which does not fold is used, as has been done heretofore. These three sections hinge together as illustrated, with the hinging point 16 between sections 11 and 12 below the stairway and the hinging point 15 between sections 10 and 11 on the upper edge of the stairway, permitting the folding of my stairway in the manner as described. This is very es sential to provide practical folding stain way to accompslih the results that I have designed it to have, to fold intov a very small compact state. hen the stairway is opened down to operating position the ends 11 and 12'unfold with the end 12 extending partially at an angular positionfrom the end 11' otherplaces where only limited space is available to place the same.

- The construction ofmy stairway is simple, yet it is very effective to accomplish the results for which it is designed.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my folding stairway, together with the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that this is only illustrative, and that my invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those set forth within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

'1.- A'folding and disappearing stairway including sectional stair members. pivotally connected together having the steps therein, one of said sectional members forming the upper end of said stairs, another of said members forming the lowermost section of said stairs, and an intermediate section between the upper and lowermost stair mem bers, and means adjacent one of said sections for folding the lowermost section over onto the adjacent section and above the top section and to project the same beyond the adjacent section when unfolding.

2. A folding, disappearing stairway including sectional stair members, means for hingedly connecting said stair members to permit the same to fold over onto each other I and a telescoping side rail connected to the side of said stairway to conceal a sash balance strap therein and means for assisting in operating said stairway.

3. A folding stairway including a casing for supporting the same, sectional stair members of different lengths, the longest length being at the top of the stair and shortening toward the bottom of the stairway, means for automatically causing the lower end section to fold over onto the adjacent section and above the top section in the course of folding the stair and sash balance means adapted to assist in raising the stair and to facilitate easy operation of the same.

4. A folding and disappearing stair including a casing adapted to fit in the ceiling from which the stair is to be supported, a'

series of stair sections hingedly connected in a manner to fold upon each other, bracket a m means for supp ti g said secti ns from the sides thereof when in extended position to assist in carrying the load of the stair intermediate its ends when extended, sash balance means provided with straps adapted to engage said stair in a manner to balance the stairway so that it may be easily operated,

means for supporting said sash balance means above said stairway and side railing means for concealing the strap of the sash balance means.

5. A folding, disappearing stairway comprising stair sections, means for 'hingedly connecting said sections together in a-manner to cause the same to fold into a very compact state, folding bracket arms connected to said stairway and the casing for supporting the same, folding side rail means and sash balance means associated with said side rail means in a manner to conceal the operating strap of the same to provide a neat construction to the stairway.

6. A folding and disappearing stairway including, a casing for supporting the same, means integral with said stairway for closing said casing when the stairway is in folded position, stair sections hingedly connected together, means for folding the lowermost section under the adjacent section and for folding the lowermost two sections above the top section in the course of folding the stairs,

and means for counterbalancing the stair way in a manner to cause the two lowermost sections to fold over onto the upper sectlon to fold the stalrway into a compact state.

REINHOLD B. MARSCHKE. 

